Story

He stood behind his new bride at the dinner party, wearing the poker-faced expression of a caregiver who feigns invisibility until the patient in his care requires assistance. His too-thin wife sat in the only wingback.Read more

I’m dying!
Not today, but soon—the reports are in, not documents, but body language.
My body speaks when lounging in the recliner is too exhausting and bed seems to be the only relief and waking up is a jolt; my dreams were sweet with the vibrancy oRead more

I once walked in the middle with my mom’s hand a tight grip on my right, and my grandchild’s hand a gentle grasp on the left. But in 2009, when my mom turned ninety and I was officially a Medicare cardholder,Read more

Wednesday’s red blouse and black jacket hang from the bathroom door’s inside knob. Thursday’s teal sweater and scarf hang from the bathroom door’s outside knob. My lavender jacket never made it into the front closet; it is still on that doorknob.Read more

I don’t fight fires or cure the sick. I’ve never scaled a mountain or scored a winning touchdown. In many ways, my time on this earth is spent living an average life. But everyday, in little ways, I get to be somebody’s heroRead more

A lifetime snoop I have always looked inside other shoppers’ buggies to see if they are buying better groceries than I am. As a consequence, I was inadvertently trailing the woman who was now in front of me.Read more

It took her a year after her husband’s passing to muster the bravery to go to the movies by herself. It’s not that she was afraid of going on her own. No, it was the terrible sadness she felt, being forever alone in a world of couples.Read more

That’s my dad with his beautiful snow-white curls framed by the lake. He still knows me, but the last stroke left him in a wheelchair, in an adult family home, and with dementia. His love of 65 years has been gone for almost two years now.Read more

“Am I 90 Yet? Mom asked. I heard those Unknown Objectwords many times the last year of mother’s life. My mother’s memory was fading. Nevertheless, she was still sharp in certain areas, for example;Read more

They don’t ask for much – just a good story now and then. Sometimes, a lot of the time, they may not be able to ask, but you can see it in their eyes. Tired eyes that are saying “I can’t make out the words anymore.”Read more

It has been said that grief is like a wave that you don’t see coming; one that drenches you from behind and threatens to pull you under. I was nearly pulled under when I was riding up on the elevator for my weekly visit with Dad.Read more